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#1 2022-05-11 07:26:11
- AFS
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- Posts: 2740
For The Jazzheads: Max, The Village Vanguard And Other NYC Goodies...
I've not long tucked away Arnold Shaw's book on 'The Street', followed by Max Gordon's on his own club The Village Vanguard.
If these gentlemen are to be believed (and why shouldn't they be?) the glory days, the great days, did not survive into wartime. Music and decent food were out and G-strings and expensive, watered drinks were in. It was certainly all over by the end of the 50s. The zoning laws had been altered and were to be altered again, driving entertainment from around 52nd Street across NYC.
Yet the books give off a heady atmosphere. Anyone who wants to know something of those years, of music played in dank basements where you could be seated three feet from Art Tatum's right elbow, should invest in these.
Jazzheads only.
#2 2022-05-12 02:47:57
- AlveySinger
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- Posts: 900
Re: For The Jazzheads: Max, The Village Vanguard And Other NYC Goodies...
I read the Max Gordon book a few years back having bought it as a souvenir at the Village Vanguard. Fascinating stuff.
He also owned a successful cabaret club for many years. A true music lover who turned his passions into his business.
Not sure who owns it now.
The romance of the place is stronger than the venue though. It's from a time before customer comfort was a commercial consideration. It's actually been about 17 years since I was last there so hopefully it's improved.
#3 2022-05-12 03:22:23
- AFS
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- Posts: 2740
Re: For The Jazzheads: Max, The Village Vanguard And Other NYC Goodies...
I could have done without all the boring crap about the likes of Woody Guthrie and the slightly self-conscious folk music/political protest/didn'r we shine Leadbelly's shoes for him? - we surely did atmosphere near the beginning. I'm only surprised the name of Senator McCarthy didn't crop up somewhere (maybe it did). Shaw's book is better, although based, as Whitney Balliett says, on strictly secondhand information. But it's an excellent read that sent me directly to Walker's 'Night Club Era', which I had to obtain from an American seller.